What can syndicate ownership do for you?

When I first spoke to owner David Nicholls, he was in Carlisle where he had been  watching one of his horses run. He was staying in a local bed and breakfast before travelling home the following morning. 

That brief conversation cemented my opinion that he would be a great example of the experience that syndicate ownership can deliver and we agreed to speak further in a couple of days when he was back 
home.

David has had a lifelong love of racing, having been born in Cheltenham and raised to the sound of Frenchie Nicholson’s string clip-clopping past his childhood home in Prestbury. 

He recalls going racing with his mother from an early age and always loving the experience, but like so many people, David’s racing involvement was limited to going racing and watching on the TV, with his first venture into ownership coming much later in life.

That began in 2017 when a friend suggested that he purchase a small shareholding of Supreme Steel through a syndicate operated by Foxtrot Racing. With that horse running second a few weeks later and going on to win next time out, it was no surprise that David got the ownership bug and expanded his interest!It was a hobby and passion that he shared with his wife Sue until she passed away three years ago and his involvement in racehorse ownership is something that David credits as a significant factor in coping with that loss. He notes that there is always something to look forward to and he loves meeting and chatting with his fellow owners, both at the races and at visits to the stables.

Like so many syndicate shareholders, David could probably afford to have a horse of his own in training, but he much prefers to own horses through syndicates as this allows him to have more interest for the same amount of money and to be able to meet and chat with like-minded individuals. He currently has five horses in training in the UK with five different trainers, while he also has a share of a three-year-old in France with Noel George.

That one is a foal out of Anythingforlove, who won six times including in a Grade 2 contest when David was a shareholder. She was registered for the Great British Bonus, so her prize-money was boosted,  and it is no surprise that David nominates her as one of his favourite horses. He is looking forward to seeing what her son can do on the racecourse.

Alongside Anythingforlove, David also put forward Marracudja as another favourite, fondly recalling watching him run over the National fences in the Aintree Foxhunters’ in 2022.

He always tries to watch his horses in action on the racecourse and enjoys stable visits when they are organised. After a career working on the railways, David benefits from free rail travel and uses that to head up and down the country, combining his visits with a stay in a B&B when the timetables do not allow him to make it home to Somerset after racing. His dedication to his passion shines through, no more so than when recently travelling up to Scotland after racing in Carlisle, just so he could catch a sleeper train back to Euston in order to attend a stable visit at Stuart Edmunds’ yard in Leighton Buzzard 
the following morning!

Having visited every jumps track in the UK bar Kelso, David’s next highlight is his first trip to France as an owner, when he heads over to Auteuil for the debut of his three-year-old and a visit to Noel George’s 
yard.David wants to continue with his ownership experience for as long as he can get to the races and the stables. His message to anyone considering shared ownership is very clear – he cannot recommend it highly enough.